Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on May 24th, 2024, I gave a Member's statement on the need for long-term care in Inuvik. Mr. Speaker, I spoke about the program review that was first completed by this government way back in 2015, and it identified the overall need for long-term care in the Northwest Territories. At the time, based on the percentage of residents over the age of 70 in the Inuvik area, the GNWT determined that a 48-bed facility would address the short and long-term needs of the Inuvik region.

Mr. Speaker, I also spoke about how in 2018 the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and the Gwich'in Tribal Council jointly developed and submitted an operational plan based on the best practices of long-term residential care. It was created in alignment with key GNWT documents, including:

• The integrated service delivery model,
• The continuing care framework and action plan Our Elders, Our Community,
• The Northwest Territories long-term care program review,
• The Northwest Territories Continuing Care Standards,

And other relevant documents.

Three alternatives were proposed, Mr. Speaker. One would be that the GNWT own and the Indigenous government operate. Two would be that the Indigenous governments would own and the GNWT would operate. And then the alternative number three would be the Indigenous governments would own and operate.

So, Mr. Speaker, that's my trip down memory lane. Here we are in 2026. We know the need is still there. We know there's been geotechnical work done on the proposed site adjacent to the hospital in Inuvik. What we don't know, Mr. Speaker, is what planning and design work has been done and where this much-needed infrastructure is on the list of priorities for the Department of Health and Social Services.

Mr. Speaker, we know this is a much-needed facility in Inuvik, and I look forward to hearing what work the Department of Health and Social Services has been doing to make this a reality, to provide a modern, culturally appropriate, long-term care facility in a region that desperately needs it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.